Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Sunnyvale City Council installed CSW (Chief Seat Warmer) Dean Chu to the City Council for Iraq-bound Councilmember Otto Lee last night, in spite of opposition from residents and former Mayors. Chu, who failed in his 2007 attempt to be re-elected, will hold down the fort for Lee. This sets up the dynamic where Chu will serve on the Council along with the guy that beat him in an election -- Dave Whittum. Awkward...

The cost of housing each underage prison inmate is over $250,000 annually so it’s understandable that there’s a push to find alternatives to prison. A report released Tuesday said alternative programs show promise but lack accountability, a never ending story it seems. The County Supervisors will have their work cut out for them to maintain the County’s good reputation and not slide back to warehousing juveniles in the State prison system in the face of budget cut backs. Santa Clara County Probation Chief Sheila Mitchell said, "Keeping the kids here is common sense."

Silicon Valley technology at work…to choose boys? There’s an increasing number of boys being born among Asian immigrant families. According to journalist Preeti Shekar, a highly sought after gender selection tool has both, "sexist and racist consequences." San Jose’s Dr. Suresh Nayak refused to speak to the Mercury News about ads he runs offering to assist parents choose the gender of their child.